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Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland is Will's best friend. He is also close friends with Grace and Karen. For most of the series, he is a struggling actor who jumps from work to work. Biography Jack was born in February 16, 1969 and was raised as an only child by Judith and Daniel McFarland. As a kid, he was babysat by Sissy.Women and Children First Jack also mentions being an altar boy at Saint Margaret.A.I.: Artificial Insemination Early childhood Jack recalls that his father was discouraging and cruel to him growing up gay. Daniel once gave Jack a ball for his birthday, which he put under his shirt and told everyone he was pregnant with George Michael's baby.Moveable Feast According Jack, Daniel passed out when he came out to him, at which point he had to perform CPR.Alley Cats Once as a kid, Jack set up a manicure stand at the end of the street and waited for his father to stop by but he never did.I Never Cheered for my Father He eventually finds out that Daniel is not his biological father, but rather a man named Joe Black, whom his mother had anonymous sex with at a pool party in 1968.Homo for the Holidays He writes a letter to him but finds out later that he is already dead.Sons and Lovers During elementary school, Jack got teased a lot with bullies calling him "Jack McFairyland".I Never Promised You An Olive Garden While in high school, he befriended Will Truman, a college freshman who was still in the closet. He encouraged Will to come out and embrace who he is, after which they became really close. Jack later admits that he bribed the first guy Will went out with. Jack also confessed his attraction to Will, which he politely turned down.Lows in the Mid-Eighties When Jack was 17, he donated some sperm to the New York Family Clinic to get money and buy a leather coat. He finds out 13 years later that a nurse working at the clinic, Bonnie took his sperm, hence becoming the biological father of Elliot. Coming Out Although openly gay to his friends, Jack never came out to his mother, fearing she will fall apart if she finds out, and even told her he and Grace dated. After Will asks him the same question Jack asked him before he himself came out ("aren't you tired yet?"), he eventually comes out to Judith. Career Jack has become famous for switching jobs frequently (every episode in the earlier seasons), while supporting his acting career. He has become a cabaret singerBetween a Rock and Harlin's PlaceGrace 0, Jack 2000Last of the Really Odd Lovers , cage dancerHomojo, cater-waiterTo Serve and Disinfect, backup dancer to Jennifer LopezI Do. Oh, No, You Di-in't and then to Janet JacksonBack Up, Dancer , assistant to GraceWilliam, Tell , a candidate for the Manhattan Gay Men's ChorusA Chorus Lie , a sales clerk at Banana RepublicLove Plus One and Barney's New YorkLoose Lips Sink Relationships , a student nurse, a surfer, a playwrightThe Big Vent, a novelistAn Old-Fashioned Piano Party, a commercialWent to a Garden Potty and theater actorA Buncha White Chicks Sittin' Around Talkin', an acting teacherThe Needle and the Omelet's Done , a magicianHocus Focus, a junior executiveOne Gay at a Time at Out TV and a talk show hostKiss and Tell, before ultimately being cast as the lead in the crime drama The Badge as Chuck Rafferty, a straight hard-boiled detectiveWhatever Happened to Baby Gin? . As an actor he is mentored by Zandra before he himself becomes an acting teacher, teaching The McFarland Method. Starting season five, he also runs Jacques, a one-table café in the hallway outside his front door. Jack has stated that he loves acting because of the attention and the applause.Speechless Will, Karen and Judith support Jack while he jumps from career to career and until the first season, he doesn't pay taxes.Where There's a Will, There's No Way Personality Portrayed as a confident gay man, Jack has always had a passion for acting and the theater, although his friends frequently express doubt in his abilities. He later graduates from nursing school with flying colors but still realizes that acting is what he wants to do in life. Jack is also shown to be somewhat slow, that Will claims he could not count to ten,Courting Disaster and that he still labels his shoes "L" and "R".The Definition of Marriage Despite this, Jack is also shown to be a creative writer as he claims he completed three short novels when he was 10, and he wrote "To Weep And To Willow: A Harlequeen Romance" which Karen loved. Strangely, Jack believes in gay rights but seemingly disdains heterosexual as well as lesbian relationships,Girl Trouble saying that "if God had intended man and woman to be together, he would've given them both penises".An Affair to Forget According to Will he has the best gaydar in the tristate area.Yours, Mine or Ours On several episodes, Jack has shown a habit of expressing shock using famous celebrities with long names, such as "Holy Anne Heche Laffoon he's straight!", "Britney Spears Federline, a gym!"The Newlydreads, and "Billie Jean King! There are lezzies in this!". Jack is also implied to be an animal lover, being the owner of Guapo even before the beginning of the series, Klaus Von Puppy since the first season, and in the fourth season, he and Karen bought Lamar, a horse who turned out to be gay.Whoa, Nelly In the eighth season, Jack donated enough money to the zoo so two gay penguins will not be separated.Birds of a Feather Boa Fandom Jack unashamedly adores all gay icons particularly Cher, of whom he has a rare dollGypsies, Tramps and Weed. He meets her once during the third season, although he mistakes her for a drag queen and declares that he can "do a better Cher than her". Cher slaps him and leaves at which point Jack realizes who she is and faints. Cher reappears in Jack's dream as his personification of god. Jack is also a big fan of pop culture and TV, which helped him in his job as an executive at Out TV. He is a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, particularly lesbian character Willow Rosenberg. He also collects clippings of celebrities' hair, including a complete collection from the four main actresses on The Golden Girls, as well as Broadway icons Bernadette Peters, Betty Buckley, Idina Menzel, and as of season seven, Patti LuPoneBully Woolley . Jack is also an active stalker of actor Kevin BaconBacon and Eggs. He, along with Grace, also loves figure skating and once even went out with Rudy GalindoWill on Ice. Media jack_1986.png|Jack in 1986. jack_pilot.png|Jack during the pilot. jack_2016.png|Jack in 2016. Relationships Will Truman ]] Will became Jack's best friend shortly after he came out to Jack's persuasion to be true to himself during the 80s. Will mentions Jack helping him through this period he considers the most difficult time in his life which he repays by supporting him for most of his adult life. During this time, Jack admits having feelings for Will which he politely turns down. After thinking they have slept each other during a black out, Will also admits being attracted to Jack but they decided to maintain a platonic relationship.Dames at Sea Will often criticizes Jack's promiscuity, loud personality and seemingly hopeless career and Jack often points out that albeit untrue Will is overweight and that he is losing his hair. Grace Adler ]] Grace and Jack became friends mainly because of Will. They initially expressed that they didn't have anything in common until they discovered they both love figure skating, Antiques Road ShowTea and a Total Lack of Sympathy, and gay pornNew Will City that they begin to bond. Along with Karen, Jack frequently makes fun of Grace's physical attributes as well as her wardrobe. By the start of season three, Grace and Jack have become really close which even drove Will jealous. Karen Walker Jack meets Karen in the second episode of the first season and they immediately become best friends for the entirety of the series, their friendship even outlasting that of Will and Grace's. They are known for their cutesy repartee; Jack calling Karen "Kare" and her calling him "Poodle" and the exchange "Who's your daddy?" "You are." Much like Will, Karen supports Jack financially, and frequently takes him on shopping sprees, which for him, is the main driving force of their friendship due to his admittedly shallow nature.The Third Wheel Gets the Grace They also have a physical, borderline "sexual" relationship in which they consistently grope and make lewd remarks about each other. Although they have a lighthearted, comedic relationship, their friendship faces several obstacles, such as when Jack makes ridiculous demands from Karen in exchange for marrying her maid RosarioBen? Her? ; when Karen finds out that he has also become friends with her rival Lorraine Finster; and when he tries to replace Karen after her engagement to LyleFred Astaire and Ginger Chicken. Their relationship also go through somewhat serious turns such as when Jack finds out Karen might be pregnantThe Unsinkable Mommy Adler, and subsequently finds out about her "forbidden room"Forbidden Fruit. Rosario Salazar Rosario was married to Jack briefly as a favor for Karen who was desperate for Rosario to get a green card. They slept on the same bed at the maid's quarters at Karen's mansion. Rory Rory is an unseen friend of Jack mentioned frequently in the earlier series. Ex-Lovers Main article: List of Jack's Ex-Lovers Notes * Jack accidentally implied that he has a tattoo saying "I Love Will" he got because he was drunk.Alive and Schticking * Jack attended acrylic nail school and jeweled acrylic nail school each for less than a week.Nice in White Satin * Sean Hayes' piano skills are often utilized in Jack's performances in Just Jack, Jack 2000, Jack 2001 and others. Hayes is a classically trained pianist. * For his performance as Jack, Sean Hayes has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series consecutively from 2000 to 2006, winning the first time. Quotes References Category:Characters Category:Jack's family Category:Main characters Category:Gay characters Category:Characters introduced in Season 1